


Day Two Hundred Seventy-Six || Drained

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [276]
Category: Naruto, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Death, F/M, Gen, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 07:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20903900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: When a body mysteriously drained of blood appears, it's up to Hinata to find the cause behind it...and be rid of it.





	Day Two Hundred Seventy-Six || Drained

Just because she isn’t technically human doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be careful.

Since she was young, Hinata has been...unlike most people she knows. While most humans are rather...well, mundane, she quickly proved to be anything but.

And that is because Hinata is a witch.

The term, of course, varies from land to land, sometimes even province to province. But all that truly matters is what it means. Neither human nor monster, she and those like her walk the delicate line between worlds.

Her mother had been one, having exhibited powers beyond the mortal. Before the birth of her second daughter, she’d begun versing Hinata in their ways.

But...she’d been young. And her lessons cut tragically short as Hanako passed not long after Hanabi’s unleashing to the world. Suddenly they were both without a mother...and Hinata without a hand (or knowing mind) to guide her.

Most of her knowledge, therefore, has been hard-won: picked up from rare books, and fleeting conversations with strangers like her. Over the course of her growing up, Hinata has learned the truth behind her bloodline in bits and pieces...just enough to crudely navigate her way through life.

Her father had indulged her...oddities for a time before removing her from the household, fearing she would taint Hanabi in a similar way. Left to her own devices, with barely any coin or possessions...Hinata was made to fend for herself from the humble age of twelve.

A fairly decent age, all things considered...for hers was a time for rampant diseases, danger, and misfortune. War and roving bandits were common...and so were things humans barely dared to believe were real.

Monsters.

By some grace, Hinata found herself in the care and tutelage of another witch named Kurenai, one whose unique magic manifested in illusions. For each family - and at times, individual - carried their own special trait or skill. In Kurenai’s case, it was the ability to bend the mind to suit her devices, often passing unseen or manipulating others to her bidding. But she was a rather kind witch, doing so only to get by, and never maliciously.

But Hinata faced a dilemma. She had no idea what her line’s power was meant to be, or her own possible unique twist. Memories of her mother, by that time, were vague and foggy...and nothing was remembered to help her realize her potential. Try as she might, Kurenai couldn’t puzzle it out either, trying trick after trick, but with little to show for it. While Hinata could demonstrate basic magical ability...her true strength remained undiscovered.

After four years in the woman’s care, Hinata decided that there was little else to glean. And given that Kurenai had become rather...involved with a city guard, she felt a bit invasive remaining. So, she’d gone on her way, promising to write, but...no longer feeling right remaining in the woman’s care. She was nearly an adult by then, and had mastered enough basic arts to get by...or so she’d hoped.

Passing through a city, Hinata had stopped to rest, all while happening to overhear a fortune teller nearby speaking in riddles and prophecies to a group of young people. A quick glance told her, of course, that this particular woman was a fraud, exhibiting no true magic.

But it was that moment that changed everything.

In a flash, as Hinata looked to a young man among them, she was struck with a vision of his future. To her horror, it was anything but the romance the hag was spouting...but a rather grisly death. Startled and afraid, she’d fled...and reached a conclusion.

_That_ was her ability. To see into the future. And once she realized it, an echo from the past had reached her: words from her mother, about how their eyes - so pale, and so...unusual - could see what others could not. The snippet had slipped through the cracks in her mind...but then, it all made sense.

Hyūga were seers.

With that knowledge in hand, Hinata knew what she had to do. Unlike the pretender in the city, she could offer true readings for those who wanted them...and, so she hoped, earn herself the coin to survive. Town to town she traveled, offering glimpses into futures. Of course...given their era, a great many ended in tragedy, but she managed to remind her clients that the future could always be changed...and it was that alone that kept her from being run out of town.

At least...not so quickly. As time passed, the era of her kind was waning - superstition and a shift in guiding morality had begun to paint her people in a cruel and predatory light.

So, with the coin she’d accrued, Hinata fled and found herself a small cabin just within the boughs of a forest. Close enough to town to take care of her errands...but far enough out to remain hidden, her arts offered only to those deemed trustworthy...and able to pay the now far-higher sum to amend for the lack of clients.

Otherwise, she kept to herself, growing a garden and befriending the locals enough to skate by with enough supplies to last the harsh Winters. Several have now passed, and she stands a young woman of her early twenties, well-versed in life’s struggles, and her arts.

...and it’s now that trouble is afoot.

Stepping from her front door, basket along her arm, she comes up short as a local man, farmer by trade, staggers up her walkway with a look of panic in his eyes. “Milady! M...milady, I -!”

“Slow down,” Hinata softly cautions, seeing his exhaustion. If he ran the whole road from his farm, no wonder he’d be winded! “Take a moment to catch your breath.”

“It...I…” Leaning forward to brace palms on his knees, he struggles for breath. “There’s been a body found, just north of the lake!”

“A body…?”

“Yes! But it, it was…” A deep grimace overcomes his expression. “..._drained_…!”

Dark brows furrow. “...what do you mean, drained?”

“There’s not a drop of blood left in him! As though some monster sucked him dry! There’s talk of a vampire roaming these parts…!”

At that, Hinata’s eyes widen. A vampire…? As times have changed and humans expanded, she’s heard less and less of the monsters lurking in the moonlight of mankind.

“You can see why folks’d be panicked - everyone’s afraid to leave their homes! And, well...we was wondering if you could...do something.”

“I’m not a hunter of monsters,” Hinata quickly cautions, raising a hand.

“But...was it not in the old tales? Of, er..._your kind_ taming monsters?”

“...that was a long time ago.”

“But milady -!”

“I’ll go investigate...and you’re right, it’s b-best you all stay in your homes. You’ll be safest there.” In truth, she knows that weak wooden cabin doors are nothing to a vampire’s might, but...if they just fed, she can hope they won’t be keen to feed again so soon. “If you can, hang a string of garlic near your door. The strong smell should help ward them off. And if you’ve any silver, arm yourself.”

“Oh, thank you…”

“Go on. Wait for me to find you...I’ll see what’s going on.” Watching him go, Hinata can’t help a feeling of dread in her stomach. Her powers aren’t showing her the future now...and in part, she’s glad not to know. Leaving her basket, she instead takes a dagger of silver and hangs the sheath from her belt.

Time to see just what’s going on.

Following the vague directions, she takes a road that leads to the small local lake, and it doesn’t take long to stumble across the smell of rotting flesh. Nose wrinkling, she parts some forest thicket to reveal the body in question. True to the farmer’s word, it’s pale as death and almost looks...shriveled despite the lack of rot. Cautiously approaching, a hand to turn them finds a bitten imprint at the crook of their neck.

No mistaking it...this _is_ a vampire.

But what to do…? Hinata’s never fought such a creature - never had to. While some Hunters do still track such monsters, there’s no telling if one is near enough to aid before someone else falls victim. Silver may give her an edge...but she’s mortal. Too slow, too weak compared to a monster of moonlight. And though she’s heard tales from her kind of their once-famed ability to manipulate the inhuman...she’s never tried it. Never encountered any such beast to know if she even has the skill.

But when the hairs on the rear of her neck stand on end...she knows she’s being watched.

Breath forced to be even and body tense, she grips the handle of her dagger tightly. She’ll likely only have one shot at this...best to make it count.

“Well well...seems I’m not the only rare breed around…”

Spinning, she relies on her hearing to gauge the distance, attempting to bury the blade somewhere useful. But like a bored parent subduing their child, the vampire catches her wrist, and with his simple grip, makes her relinquish the weapon.

“Bit rude to stab someone when you don’t even know their name, isn’t it…?”

“You’ve killed someone,” Hinata replies tersely.

“Eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. I needed blood, and he was there to provide. Besides...he stunk of sin. Not only will he not be missed...but I can almost guarantee that someone, somewhere, will be happy he’s gone. I try to only kill humans that deserve it, miss witch.”

As he speaks, Hinata looks the man over. He’s pale of skin, with flyaway dark hair and even darker eyes. Taller than her own build, he’s wiry and sinewy - a far throw from her short and stout anatomy. And there’s an aloof tinge to his expression, clearly bored of her.

“...a death is still a death. If he’d done wrong, he needed to be t-tried.”

“Well...sometimes we ought to give the courts a rest, hm? Besides, you humans rarely get this whole ‘justice’ thing right,” he drawls, releasing her wrist and flicking her dagger up with a boot, snatching it in midair and looking it over. “...fine blade. But you’re far too slow to use it.”

“...you need to leave.”

“Oh…?”

“I’ll not let you hurt anyone else.”

At that, the vampire scoffs. “Not _let_ me, eh? And, ah...what, praytell, will you do to stop me…?” As if to prove his point, he moves in a blur. With a thud, her knife drives into a tree trunk, wrists pinned over her head as he effortlessly subdues her. “...I don’t want to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it. I’m on my way through...I’ll not trouble your little gaggle of humans, witchy woman. Just remember...humans always need a monster in the shadows. They just might make one out of you, someday…”

Tensed and panting, Hinata feels a flicker of panic in her veins. And like a spark to tinder, it seems to alight something within her. Jaw setting, a kind of instinct drives her to bark, “Release me!”

As though thrown backwards, the vampire does just that, shock widening his eyes and flaring them red. Immediately, his body language changes from relaxed to battle ready.

Rubbing at a wrist, Hinata watches him warily.

“...what did you just do…?”

“What I had to.” Drawing herself up to her full height, Hinata stares at him. “...I want you to leave. _Now_. I w-won’t let you harm these people, or make them afraid. They trust me...and I them. It’s my duty to protect them. I don’t want to hurt you...but I’ll do what I must. Now...leave, vampire. And n-never come back.”

Slowly, he lets himself lose his edge, eyes fading back to black. “...I told you, that’s not why I’m here. Didn’t have to go and shove me with...whatever that was. Consider me gone, witch.”

“My _name_ is Hinata.”

“...Sasuke. Not that you apparently care. Be careful with those powers of yours. I meant what I said. There always has to be a monster...and you’ll be first on their list.”

Her jaw tightens. “...I said, _go_.”

Scowling, he lingers only a moment longer before simply disappearing, rustling underbrush all that betrays his movement.

Only once she’s sure he’s gone does she relax with a sigh, sagging back against the tree behind her. She had no idea what to expect, but...it seems the old tales are true. The ones who walk the night really _do_ obey a witch’s words.

...she’ll have to remember that. But for now, she has a body to bury...and people to reassure.

Beyond the lake, coming to a stop, Sasuke only looks back once he’s sure he’s clear of her. A hand smoothes irritatedly through his hair. He’s only ever encountered a handful of witches...and none ever treated him like _that_.

...nor did they exhibit a power over him.

Seems the old folktales are true. Well...he’s not keen to see her again, that’s for certain.

...and yet...he can’t help a flicker of morbid curiosity. It’s rare to see a human so plucky...even if she’s not _completely_ human. A strange walker of the line between night and day...one who wanders the twilight between humans and monsters.

For now, at any rate, he’s not about to push his luck...and he’s got somewhere to be. But he nonetheless makes a mental note for a later date.

It just might be a little...fun.

**Author's Note:**

> A slightly different twist on the typical Nightwalker story! Rather than modern, this one's more medieval based, a bit like SHM day two this year, only...well, not directly connected. This one's standalone...at least for now!
> 
> Anyway, it is SUPER duper late, so I'm gonna go sleep - thanks for reading!


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